ultraversefandomcom-20200213-history
Spider-Man
Spider-Man and Friends was a line of action figures and related merchandise featuring the comic book character Spider-Man and other characters appearing in Marvel Comics publications, released by Marvel Entertainment's toy division, Toy Biz, from 2003 to 2006. The line was aimed primarily at preschool-age children, and the character likenesses used were often altered to seem "cuter" and more childlike (and child-friendly); most characters were depicted as wide-eyed and smiling, even supervillains and characters better known for anger or savagery, such as the Incredible Hulk or Wolverine. Featured characters Heroes * Spider-Man * Spider-Girl—essentially a female counterpart to Spider-Man, wearing a near-identical costume; has no perceived connection to the Marvel Comics character of the same name or the various characters known as Spider-Woman. Storybooks under the Spider-Man and Friends brand name suggest that she is Spider-Man's cousin. * Wolverine * Hulk * Captain America * Thor * Cyclops * Hercules * Iron Man * The Fantastic Four * Iceman * Colossus * The Beast—for the most part, he is the same as the original Beast, but he is not a mutant, instead having been an ordinary boy (who appears similar to Beast's earliest appearances) who invented a potion that made him grow long blue hair. Villains * The Rhino * The Lizard * The Green Goblin * Doctor Octopus Merchandise Web/Television series In November 2003, Marvel Entertainment announced a joint venture with Breakthrough Film & Television to adapt the toy line to an animated web series of 13 episodes of 22 minutes of co-distribution from the United States and Canada , first released by Marvel.com in 2004. It is the heroic version of Bruno and Banana Bunch's parody. Spider-Man & Friends is narrated by Stephen Fry and developed by Pedro Florido. In Israel, Spider-Man & Friends began premiering on BabyTV in Israel, from 2006 to 2008, airing weekdays at 2:30 p.m. In 2007, Viacom International Media Networks Europe announced the acquisition of the UK broadcast rights of Spider-Man & Friends. It premiered in the UK, at Nick Jr. and Nick Jr. 2, on June 13, 2009, at 3:00 p.m. It was broadcast with an intensity of 6 schedules, such as 9:15 am (Monday), 10:30 am (Tuesday), 11:20 am (Wednesday), 3:23 pm (Thursday), 3:57 pm (Friday) and 12:00 pm (weekends). On April 30, 2010, Spider-Man & Friends was officially removed from the Nick Jr. and Nick Jr. 2 schedule, due to rebranding. The UK broadcast rights of Spider-Man & Friends is part of the Kids Mix Broadcasting. According to Stan Lee, the series have been broadcast in over 150 countries, and translated into over 60 languages. On April 13, 2008, Spider-Man & Friends premiered on BabyFirstTV in the United States, as part of the channel's lineup. The dual broadcast package of the two different episodes began airing weekdays at 12:00 p.m., through, on weekends at 9:10 a.m. and 10:02 a.m. Three strength schedules were transmitted through the US broadcast. Spider-Man & Friends was removed from the BabyFirstTV schedule in September 2008. Spider-Man & Friends officially ended its 7-year global broadcast in June 2010, ending the series' existence. Film Video games The end of Friends The Spider-Man and Friends line ceased production at the end of 2006, when all toy licenses for Marvel Comics characters passed from Toy Biz to Hasbro; the final wave of figures was released in December 2006.ToyFare Magazine #111, November 2006 Hasbro currently continues the concept of Marvel characters for the preschool set with a new line of action figures called Marvel Super Hero Squad, which debuted in January 2007.Toyfare Magazine #110, October 2006 Featured characters in Wave 1 include Archangel, Colossus, Captain America, Magneto, Sabretooth, Cyclops, Wolverine, and Hawkeye.,ToyFare Magazine #111, November 2006 Wave 2 includes Hulk, Wasp, Iron Man, Thor, Daredevil, Elektra, Punisher, and Ghost Rider. Super Hero Squad figures are much smaller than their Spider-Man and Friends predecessors, and are comparable in size and design to a similarly preschool-specific line of Star Wars toys already produced by Hasbro. In 2009, an animated series based on the toy line debuted, titled The Super Hero Squad Show. Footnotes Category:Marvel Comics action figure lines Category:Spider-Man toys